Increase in health expenditure levels off in OECD zone. The increase in health expenditure saw a considerable slow-down, even a drop, in 2010, in almost all of the countries of the OECD, reversing a long-term trend of rapid increase, according to the latest OECD statistics on health. Health expenditure in the countries of the OECD increased by on average nearly 5% a year in real terms over the period 2000-2009, but saw zero growth in 2010. The preliminary figures of the OECD for a small number of countries indicate a small or non-existent increase for 2011. This levelling off of health expenditure in 2010 can be explained by a 0.5% drop in public expenditure, following an increase in excess of 5% a year in 2008 and 2009. Although most of the countries maintained the level of their health expenditure at the start of the economic crisis, budgetary cuts started to take hold in 2010, particularly in the European countries the hardest hit by the recession. In Ireland, the restrictions placed on public expenditure translated into a 7.6% drop in the total level of health expenditure in 2010, having risen by 8.4% a year on average between 2000 and 2009. Similarly, Iceland's health expenditure fell 7.5% following a 9.3% reduction in public expenditure. As for Estonia, health expenditure - with average annual growth levels a shade under 7% a year throughout the period 2000-2009 - plummeted by 7.9% in 2010, due to reductions in public and private expenditure. In Greece, health expenditure estimates indicate a drop of 6.5% in 2010, following an average annual increase of more than 6% between 2000 and 2009. Outside Europe, growth in health expenditure slowed down in 2010, to reach the level of around 3% in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It remained above 8% in Korea. (IL/transl.fl)